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Painting Faces in Playa Coco, Costa Rica

I wasn’t going to write about New Years, but Shaun insisted the tale must be told. He even offered to write it! Here he is with a run down of our New Year’s Eve adventure in Playa Coco

Happy New Year!

This past new years in Costa Rica my wife Kate decided to face paint while out at Zi’s Lounge in Playa Coco. I figured I should write this post because she is way too modest to properly describe the effect she had on the night.

Whitney and I were going for the natural look

Kate face painted for her good friend Dory Thout’s Sparkle Shack company back at home this summer and fall to save some extra cash for our trip. They would work various events, music festivals, parties, and so on. It was typically on the weekends and it turned out to be a great way for Kate to save money. It also meant more time for me to golf, have beers with the boys, and sit on the couch… Despite seeing a bit less of my wife, I thought it was great. However I never knew how impressive her face painting and body art skills were and what a huge demand there was for it.

Smitty steps up to the plate

New Years at Coco is known to be fairly crazy and prior to the night I warned Kate that if she brought her purse expect its contents to be stolen. I had hoped she would leave the purse at home. She refused and insisted she bring it along with the face painting kit. I definitely ate my words on this one. Once we got to the bar we had dinner and few drinks. It was a quiet start to a crazy night. Kate painted her face and Whit’s prior to leaving. Then after dinner we noticed the painted glowed when the black lights came on. Smit decided he needed some body art and seemed to start the trend. She painted his arm, chest, and part of his back.

Our friend Tia getting a rainbow butterfly

Then it seemed in a matter of minutes strangers were lining up for her to paint their faces and arms. Guys typically got their arms done and girls got their faces done. Kate was quick too, it took her less than a minute usually per person. Even all the servers would line up to get some body art done. At one point I couldn’t get a drink because three of the servers were in line. Kate on the other had free drinks lined up for her yet no time to enjoy them

The waitresses all lined up!

One crazed canuck really stole the show as he needed his whole face painted. And he rocked it. The paint even matched his bright yellow shirt and headband. There were older men even lining up. At one point it seemed half the bar had some sort of my wife’s body art on them. I even had to get an arm done just to try to fit in. It seemed to bring everyone together and made for a very

The best customer of the night

friendly atmosphere. We easily met more people that night than the past few weeks combined.She had to stop by 11:30 because she did not want to miss new years. As I stood with her then and for the next 15 minutes people would beg her to do their faces. That was the hardest part was watching her have to turn people away.

Seal of approval

Her mark was emphatically made on New Years 2014. She was a celebrity that night.Everyone knew who she was and loved her for it. It was all for free, for her and everyone else’s enjoyment. A few kind people gave her tips despite her trying to give them back, they insisted though and were so appreciative. Kate came home with more money than she left with. I came home broke and with a hangover.

Some very “happy” customers

I was in complete awe at how great she was at it. I’d never actually saw her in action. I’d dropped her off at events, saw the pictures, and saw her practice, but never saw her full skill set and talent on display. It was an impressive show and a night I will never forget.